Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection

A few years ago Samuel Adams released the Barrel Room Collection.  A group of small batch experimental beers honed in the "Barrel Room" of their Boston Brewery and sold only in New England, New York and Denver, Colorado.  I'm pretty stoked that as of this month the release is going nationwide. I couldn't be more pleased.  This is some pretty awesome stuff.

My first taste of this collection goes back to 2010.  More recently, and much more notably, we hung out in the Samuel Adams Barrel Room during our trip to Boston this past March.  For in the Barrel Room all of the magic happens.

The entire Barrel Room Collection is a take on Belgian brews.  The self described "soul" of this series is something the brewers call Kosmic Mother Funk, or KMF.  

When Todd first described KMF, it took me twice to register what he was actually saying and then a few tastes to appreciate what it was.  KMF is a special ale aged in oak tuns.  It truly is kosmic and funky.  I can only guess about its Mother.

If memory serves me correct, each of the tuns are aging batches of KMF at different intervals and then eventually added to the different styles of the Barrel Room Collection at different rates.

KMF is amazing all by itself and wonderfully predominant in the American Kriek and the new Belgian stout, Thirteenth Hour.

Let me say this up front.  It's damn good. 

The nose immediately hit me with a woody oak smell.  In the beer itself, I found carmel, cherry, chocolate and a cool funkiness certainly attributed to KMF.  The note I left to myself: fabulous.

The second release is New World, a Belgian Tripel.  New World poured with a huge creamy head and tasted of citrus, spice, honey and almost a fresh hop saison earthy sort of thing.  Another good solid beer, but second place to its stout brother.

Needles to say, I will be checking my local beer purveyors for more Thirteenth Hour.  Have you had a chance to try anything from Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection?  If so, what are your thoughts?  Leave them in the comments below.

Note: Samuel Adams provided me with the New World & Thirteenth Hour beers.  My thirst, photos and impressions are my own.